General Motors plans to boost Chevy Bolt EV production at Orion Assembly

Chevrolet's new electric car is a milestone in the segment, setting the bar for range, price, features and comfort. The Bolt EV has electric-car looks but drives a lot like a regular car — with just a few exceptions. Watch the video for more.
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General Motors plans to boost production of the Chevrolet Bolt at its Orion Assembly plant later this year.(Photo: General Motors)

General Motors will boost production of the Chevrolet Bolt this year at its Orion Assembly plant in Oakland County.

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, in a speech Wednesday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, cited surging global demand as driving the decision to boost production of the Bolt, an extended-range plug-in electric vehicle.

It's not clear if the production boost would lead to any additional jobs. GM employs 1,148 workers — 1,005 hourly and 143 salaried — at Orion Assembly.

Barra noted the increasing numbers of miles driven in GM's electric vehicles.

"In December 2012, the Chevrolet Volt was GM’s flagship electrified vehicle and its owners hit a milestone 100 million all-electric miles just two years after it went on sale. By December 2017, drivers of five electrified models, including the Bolt EV, racked up more than 2.6 billion EV miles," her speech said.

"We are encouraged by this momentum, and because of increasing global demand for the Chevrolet Bolt EV, we are announcing today that we will increase Bolt EV production later this year at our Orion Assembly plant north of Detroit," according to prepared remarks.

Bolt sales have been increasing.

GM sold 1,424 Bolts in the U.S. in February compared with 952 in February 2017, a increase of nearly 50%. The company sold about 26,000 globally in 2017, an increase from 2016 — it launched late in the year — when just 579 Bolts were sold, according to the company.

The Bolt was not available nationwide until the second half of last year so it's possible those numbers do not tell the whole story.

The Bolt is now on sale in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South Korea and several countries in the Middle East, according to a GM spokesman.

"It is technically offered in small numbers in Europe, but as you may know it’s called the Opel Ampera there (and since July of last year those sales attribute to PSA Groupe, following the sale of Opel/Vauxhall)," according to an e-mail from spokesman David Caldwell.

GM has made electrification of its lineup a key part of its plans, announcing previously that it would roll out 20 new all-electric models by 2023.

"We are optimistic about EVs because last year, automakers sold 1.2 million plug-in electric and plug-in hybrids around the world, largely because of more affordable batteries," Barra said in the speech.

The Bolt also figures prominently in GM's self-driving car efforts. The company announced last June that it had completed 130 autonomous Bolts at Lake Orion, the only plant that makes the Bolt.

In her speech, Barra was also to touch on the Trump administration's ongoing review of vehicle fuel economy and emissions standards.

"We expect to hear more on the required government review of the standards soon. What we do support in that review is the need for the government to have one set of requirements, with California part of that process. One common standard allows us to advance innovation for our customers today and tomorrow," Barra said in the speech, referencing separate requirements regarding so-called zero-emissions vehicles that California and several other states follow.

Barra's speech also urged an expansion of tax credits for electric vehicles, and she said more must be done to boost the nation's electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. Limited public charging options is one of the reasons often cited for so-called range anxiety, an expression that describes the worry that an electric vehicle will not be able to get to its destination.

"We believe the energy industry and other stakeholders must partner with us on a robust charging infrastructure that drives consumers’ confidence that they can drive their EVs anywhere at any time," Barra said. "In the U.S., electric vehicles from all manufacturers have access to about 17,000 public charging stations, but additional stations will be needed as more consumers discover the benefits of EVs."